Grip for sporting implement

ABSTRACT

A grip for a sporting implement includes an underlisting of an elastic material and in one embodiment a removable sleeve adapted to be releasably seated in an annular recess in the underlisting and in a second embodiment a material is molded into the annular recess of the underlisting and in both embodiments, any desired pattern can be formed in the outer surface of the grip and of any desired color.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] A grip for a sporting implement includes an underlisting adaptedto be received on the handle of the sporting implement and a sleeve ormolded body of material received on the underlisting.

[0003] 2. Description of the Relevant Art

[0004] Grips for sporting implements have taken numerous forms over along period of time with early grips for golf clubs, tennis rackets andthe like simply consisting of a wrap of material, such as leather, in ahelical pattern around the handle portion of the sporting implement.Through the years such wrap type grips became more sophisticated in thatthe leather, and in more recent times, polyurethane, which was wrappedaround the handle of the sporting implement was wrapped onto an elasticunderlisting which typically takes the form of vulcanized rubber. In thecase of golf clubs, the underlisting is a hollow tubular body having anend cap that is adapted to be slid over the butt end of the golf clubshaft and defines a seating area where a strip of leather or syntheticmaterial can be wrapped about the underlisting. The underlisting, ofcourse, gives a softer surface on which to wrap the leather or syntheticmaterial thereby providing a different gripping relationship between anathlete and the sporting implement.

[0005] In the sport of golf, grips evolved from the wrap type grip tosimply vulcanized rubber sleeves that were slipped over the butt end ofthe club but had the drawback of being worn fairly quickly so that thesurface of the grip became slippery and undesirable from a performancestandpoint. Such vulcanized rubber grips are still in use and utilizevarious recessed patterns on the surface thereof to improve the grippingsurface. Another prevalent problem with conventional vulcanized rubbertubular grips resides in the fact that once the grip becomes slipperyand is therefore undesirable from a performance standpoint, the entiregrip must be replaced which is expensive and time consuming.

[0006] Wrap-type grips have always been used but are gaining increasedpopularity with the advent of alternative materials from which to formthe strip of material that is wrapped about the underlisting. Forexample, polyurethanes have become a popular material for the strip ofwrap material. One disadvantage with wrap materials resides in themanufacturing process which is fairly time consuming in that the stripof leather or synthetic material needs to be carefully wrapped onto anunderlisting either prior to or after the underlisting has been mountedon the shaft of the sporting implement.

[0007] Accordingly, it would be desirable in the field of sportingequipment to provide a grip that can be replaced easily and quicklyand/or a grip that simulates a wrap type grip that does not require thetime consuming task of actually wrapping a strip of leather or syntheticmaterial about an underlisting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The present invention relates to a grip utilizing an underlistingand in one embodiment a removable sleeve easily mountable and removablefrom the underlisting and in another embodiment a moldable materialmolded directly onto the underlisting.

[0009] In the first embodiment, an underlisting of tubular configurationand having an end cap adapted to abut the end of a sporting implementsuch as a golf club is provided with an annular recess that extendssubstantially from one end of the underlisting to the other end. Atubular sleeve is adapted to be removably seated in the annular recessand is retained in position by collars at opposite ends of theunderlisting and by cooperating inhibitors provided in an externalsurface of the annular recessed area of the underlisting and an internalsurface of the tubular sleeve. The inhibitors in a preferred embodimentconsist of an annular bead on one of the underlisting or outer sleeveand a cooperating annular groove on the other of the underlisting orouter sleeve with the inhibitors cooperating with the collars atopposite ends of the underlisting in releasably securing the sleeve inposition.

[0010] The outer surface of the tubular sleeve can include any form ofrecessed pattern to provide a desired gripping surface and further thesleeve as well as the underlisting can be made of any desired color toadd variety to the features of the grip. Typically, the underlistingwould be of a harder material than the tubular sleeve but could be madeof the same material with the underlisting having a higher durometerrating than the tubular sleeve.

[0011] The second embodiment of the invention incorporates anunderlisting defining a seating surface around its outer perimeter towhich a body of material is directly molded. Desirably, the molded bodysurrounding the underlisting is softer than the underlisting materialitself to provide a desired gripping surface while the underlistingprovides the desired stability or base for the grip.

[0012] The grip can be manufactured by providing an underlisting intowhich a mandrel is inserted prior to placing the underlisting andmandrel combination in a mold having a cavity that substantiallyconforms with but is slightly larger than the outer dimension of theunderlisting. The mold includes an injection passage so that themoldable material can be injected into the cavity around the mandrelreinforced underlisting until the material is molded to and forms adesired outer gripping surface for the grip.

[0013] The mold cavity could have any pattern formed therein so that theouter surface of the molded body of the grip is desirably textured toenhance the gripping features.

[0014] While a grip formed in accordance with the present inventionwould find use on numerous types of sporting implements, it will bedescribed in connection with a golf club but the description is notintended to be limiting on the field of use of the grip.

[0015] Other aspects, features and details of the present invention canbe more completely understood by reference to the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with thedrawings and from the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a golf club incorporating a firstembodiment of the grip of the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary isometric view showing the gripportion of the golf club illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0018]FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the grip incorporated onto the golfclub of FIG. 1.

[0019]FIG. 4 is a partially exploded isometric view showing the sleeveof the grip of FIG. 1 being slid upon the underlisting.

[0020]FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the assembled grip of FIG. 1 inalignment with the butt end of a golf club shaft on which the grip is tobe mounted.

[0021]FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

[0022]FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line 7-7 ofFIG. 6.

[0023]FIG. 8 is an enlarged section taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

[0024]FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line 9-9 ofFIG. 6.

[0025]FIG. 10 is an fragmentary section similar to FIG. 7 illustratingthe butt end of the underlisting of the grip.

[0026]FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 9 showing the tipend of the underlisting.

[0027]FIG. 12 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 7 showing thebutt end of the tubular sleeve.

[0028]FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 9 showing the tipend of the tubular sleeve.

[0029]FIG. 14 is an isometric view of one embodiment of the tubularsleeve of the grip of FIG. 1.

[0030]FIG. 15 is an isometric similar to FIG. 14 showing a secondembodiment of the tubular sleeve.

[0031]FIG. 16 is an isometric similar to FIG. 14 showing still anotherembodiment of the tubular sleeve.

[0032]FIG. 17 is an isometric exploded view of a mold for forming thesecond embodiment of the present invention and with an underlistingshown displaced therefrom.

[0033]FIG. 18 is an isometric view of the mold of FIG. 17 shown in aclosed position and with hidden components of the mold and theunderlisting therein being shown in dashed lines.

[0034]FIG. 19 is a section taken along line 19-19 of FIG. 18.

[0035]FIG. 20 is a fragmentary isometric view of a grip formed with themold illustrated in FIG. 17-20 and with the grip mounted on a golf clubshaft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0036] A golf club shaft 22 incorporating a first embodiment of the gripof the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The grip 24, whichis possibly best seen in FIGS. 3-5 is a two-piece grip including anunderlisting 26 and an outer tubular sleeve 28. As will be explained inmore detail later, the outer sleeve 28 is adapted to be releasablyseated on the underlisting 26 so that it can be replaced withoutreplacing the underlisting to save time and expense in providing a newgripping surface for the club 22.

[0037] The underlisting 26 is an elongated tubular body made of anelastic material such as vulcanized or synthetic rubber. While thedurometer rating of the rubber could be as desired for a particularapplication, it has been found that a durometer rating of 65 to 70provides desirable results for a golf club. The underlisting is ofhollow tubular construction having an axial recess 29 therein with theunderlisting tapering slightly in a converging manner on both its innerand outer surfaces from a butt end to a tip end so as to conform withthe taper of the golf club shaft. The taper of the outer surface can bevaried as desired to vary the gripping surface of the grip as willbecome clear later. The underlisting has a collar 30 at the butt end ofthe club in the form of an end cap and a collar 32 at the tip end in theform of a tapered frustconical body. Between the end cap 30 and the tipcollar 32 is an annular recessed region 34 defining a seating surfacefor the outer sleeve 28. An inhibitor in the form of an annular bead 36is formed in the annular recessed area 34 immediately adjacent to thecollars at the butt and tip end of the underlisting which, as will beexplained later, cooperate with mating inhibitors on the outer sleeve 28to assist in retaining the outer sleeve in the annular recess of theunderlisting. A passageway 38 is provided through the end cap 30, aswith most golf grips, which functions as a vent to facilitate mountingof the underlisting on the butt end of the golf club shaft 22.

[0038] The outer sleeve 28 is a tubular member that is also of somewhattapered construction to conform with the taper on the underlisting 26.The outer sleeve has an inner generally cylindrical surface 40 that isof a diameter slightly less than the outer diameter of the annularrecess 34 in the underlisting and is tapered in conformity with thetaper of the annular recess 34 in the underlisting. The diameter of theouter surface 42 of the outer sleeve 28, or the gripping surface of thegrip, conforms substantially to the diameter of the end cap 30 and thetip collar 32 of the underlisting, and the outer surface is tapered inconformity with the desired taper of the gripping surface of the grip.Adjacent to the butt end and the tip end of the outer sleeve, an annulargroove 44 is provided in the inner surface 40 that is adapted to matewith the annular beads 36 on the underlisting 26 so that when the outersleeve is seated in the annular recess of the underlisting, the annularbeads 36 are retained within the annular grooves 44 to inhibit movementof the outer sleeve. The outer sleeve can be made of any suitablematerial but a vulcanized or synthetic rubber has been found suitable.Further, while the durometer rating of the outer sleeve could be in anydesirable range for the purpose intended, for a golf club a durometerrating in the range of 35 to 40 has been found desirable. Whenassembling the grip 24 on a golf club, the outer sleeve 28 is firstadvanced over the butt end of the golf club shaft 22 with the tip endleading as the sleeve is slid over the butt end of the shaft. The sleeveis advanced far enough along the shaft so that the underlisting 26 cannext be mounted on the butt end of the shaft in a conventional mannerwithout interference from the sleeve. A double-faced adhesive tape orthe like (not shown) is preferably placed around the butt end of theshaft and a solvent exposed thereto prior to mounting the underlistingso that the underlisting can be easily slid onto the shaft in aconventional manner and be gripped by the adhesive once the solvent hasevaporated.

[0039] With the underlisting 26 mounted on the butt end of the shaft 22so that the end cap 30 abuts the butt end of the shaft, the outer sleeve28 is slid upwardly as illustrated in FIG. 4 onto the underlisting untilthe outer sleeve is seated within the annular recess 34 of theunderlisting with the annular grooves 44 receiving and mating with theannular beads 36.

[0040] The outer sleeve 28 is shown fully mounted on the underlisting 26in FIGS. 6-9 with FIGS. 7-9 being cross-sectional views illustrating therelationship of the outer sleeve to the underlisting and theunderlisting to the shaft 22 of the golf club.

[0041] FIGS. 14-16 illustrate various surface finishes for the outersleeve 28 and as will be appreciated, the outer surface can be preformedin a molding process to simulate a wrap type grip as in FIG. 14, adimpled pattern as in FIG. 15, or a stippled pattern as in FIG. 16. Anydesired pattern can be molded into the outer surface of the sleeve aswould be within the skill of those in the art.

[0042] The second embodiment 50 (FIGS. 19 and 20) of the grip of thepresent invention consists of an underlisting 26 of the type describedpreviously, which may or may not include the annular beads 36. Forpurposes of the present disclosure, the underlisting 26 has been shownto be identical to that previously described but underlistings of otherconfigurations could be utilized.

[0043] In forming the second embodiment of the grip of the presentinvention, a mold 54 is provided having upper and lower halves 56 and58, respectively, with confronting faces 60 with cavities 62 definedtherein. The cavities are positioned so as to be confronting when themold halves are positioned in face to face confronting relationship todefine a joined cavity 63. Accordingly, each cavity is of substantiallysemicylindrical configuration so that when they are in confrontingrelationship, the joined cavity 63 conforms with a finished grip 50 andis adapted to receive and seat an underlisting 26 prior to a moldingprocess. It will therefore be appreciated that the completed or joinedcavity formed from the cavities 62 in the two mold halves 56 and 58 areslightly larger in configuration than the underlisting 26 with thejoined cavity conforming precisely at tip and butt ends to the tipcollar 32 of the underlisting and the end cap 30, respectively. Thejoined cavity 63 is formed to be slightly larger than the annular recess34 in the underlisting so that when the underlisting is positioned inthe joined cavity 63, an annular space 66 is defined between the annularrecess 34 and the walls of the joined cavity. A moldable material 68 canbe injected into the annular space 66.

[0044] Each mold half has half of an injection passage 70 formed thereinand with one half passage 72 adapted to confront a corresponding halfpassage 74 in the other mold half so that the moldable material 68 canbe injected into the cavity 63 through the injection passage 70 when theunderlisting 26 is positioned therein. As is conventional in injectionmolding, a vent passage 76 is also defined by two vent passage halves 78and 80 in each of the mold halves 56 and 58, respectively, thatcommunicates with an opposite end of the joined cavity 63 from theinjection passage 70.

[0045] The mold halves include alignment pins 82 and holes 84 so thatwhen the halves are placed in face to face relationship as shown in FIG.18, the cavity and passage halves are confronting.

[0046] Prior to molding, a cylindrical mandrel 86 is positioned in thehollow interior of the underlisting 26 to support the underlisting, andthe underlisting is then positioned within the cavity 62 on one half ofthe mold. The other half of the mold is then positioned in confrontingrelationship as shown in FIG. 18, and the mold halves clamped orotherwise held together. With the mold halves clamped together, theunderlisting is confined within the joined cavity 63 and held inposition so as to define the annular gap 66 around the annular recess 34in the underlisting. The moldable material 68 is thereafter injectedinto the mold through the injection passage 70 and allowed to flow intothe annular gap as air in the annular gap is vented through the ventpassage 76. Once the entire annular gap 66 has been filled with themoldable material, the injection of the moldable material is terminatedand the moldable material allowed to cure. The movement of the moldablematerial 68 from the injection passage 70 toward the vent passage 76 isillustrated in FIG. 19.

[0047] After the moldable material has cured, the mold halves 56 and 58are separated and the completed grip 50 removed from the mold. Finally,the mandrel 86 is removed from the underlisting 26.

[0048] A recessed pattern (FIG. 17) can be provided in each cavity ofthe mold halves to define a desired recessed pattern for the outersurface of the molded body 88 (FIG. 20) of the grip. Of course, thepattern can be any desired pattern including those illustrated in FIGS.14-16.

[0049] The underlisting 26 for the molded grip could, as describedpreviously, be a vulcanized or synthetic rubber and while the durometerrating of the rubber could be chosen for a selected use, for golf clubgrips, a durometer rating in the range of 65 to 70 has been founddesirable. The moldable material 68 could be any suitable material but apolyurethane material has been found desirable. The polyurethane couldtake on various desired characteristics depending upon the intended usebut a polyurethane having a durometer rating in the range of 35 to 40has shown to be desirable.

[0050] Although the present invention has been described with a certaindegree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosurehas been made by way of example, and changes in detail or structure maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A grip for a sporting implement having a shaft with a buttend and a tip end comprising in combination: an elongated underlistinghaving an axial recess therein, said underlisting being positionable onsaid butt end of said shaft with the butt end of the shaft received insaid axial recess and having an outer generally cylindrical surface,said underlisting further including an annular recess in said outersurface, an elongated outer sleeve having an axial passage therein andan outer surface adapted to be gripped by a user of the implement, saidaxial passage in said outer sleeve receiving said underlisting such thatsaid outer sleeve is seated in said annular recess of said underlisting,and cooperating inhibitors on said underlisting and said outer sleeve toinhibit relative axial movement between said underlisting and said outersleeve.
 2. The grip of claim 1 wherein said cooperating inhibitorsinclude a cooperating tongue and groove on said underlisting and outersleeve.
 3. The grip of claim 2 wherein said tongue and groove inhibitorsare in the form of an annular bead and groove with the bead being on oneof said underlisting, and outer sleeve and the groove being on the otherof said underlisting and outer sleeve.
 4. The grip of claim 3 whereinthere are two of said cooperating inhibitors at axially spaced locationsalong the length of said underlisting and outer sleeve.
 5. The grip ofclaim 2 wherein said underlisting includes annular collars at oppositeends thereof defining said annular recess between said collars.
 6. Thegrip of claim 5 wherein said cooperating inhibitor on said underlistingis positioned within said annular recess.
 7. The grip of claim 1 whereinsaid cooperating inhibitors include an annular bead in said annularrecess of said underlisting and a mating annular groove in said outersleeve adapted to be aligned with said annular bead when said outersleeve is received on said underlisting in said annular recess.
 8. Thegrip of claim 1 wherein said underlisting is made of a harder materialthan said outer sleeve.
 9. The grip of claim 8 wherein said underlistingand outer sleeve are both made of vulcanized rubber.
 10. The grip ofclaim 9 wherein said underlisting has a durometer rating in the range of65-75 and the outer sleeve has a durometer rating in the range of 35-40.11. A grip for a sporting implement having a shaft with a butt end and atip end comprising in combination: an elongated underlisting having anaxial recess therein, said underlisting being positionable on said buttend of said shaft with the butt end of the shaft received in said axialrecess, and an annular body molded onto said underlisting defining anouter gripping surface for a user of the implement.
 12. The grip ofclaim 11 wherein said underlisting and annular body are made ofdifferent materials.
 13. The grip of claim 12 wherein said annular bodyis made of a softer material than said underlisting.
 14. The grip ofclaim 13 wherein the durometer rating of said underlisting is in therange of 65 to 70, and the durometer rating of said annular body is inthe range of 35 to
 40. 15. The grip of claim 11 wherein saidunderlisting includes an annular recess along its length and saidannular body is disposed in said annular recess.
 16. The grip of claim15 wherein said underlisting includes an annular collar at opposite endsthereof and said annular recess is disposed between said annularcollars.
 17. A method of manufacturing a grip for a sporting implementcomprising the steps of: forming a tubular underlisting of an elasticmaterial defining a hollow core, placing a mandrel in the hollow core,forming a mold having a cavity therein of slightly larger dimension thansaid tubular underlisting and with a passageway for injecting a moldablematerial into said cavity, placing the tubular underlisting with themandrel in the cavity, and injecting a moldable material into the cavityto form an annular body of said moldable material around said tubularunderlisting.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein the moldable materialis polyurethane.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein said cavity has arecessed pattern formed in the walls thereof so that the pattern ismolded into said annular body.
 20. The method of claim 17 wherein saidmold is a two-piece mold.
 21. The method of claim 17 wherein saidtubular underlisting is formed with an annular recess and said moldablematerial is injected into the mold so as only to occupy said annularrecess.